March 1, 2017

In this issue…

• Current News
• Family Updates
• Personnel Updates

Current News

Mihalko clinches CoSIDA’s top academic award

Cassidy Mihalko added another accolade to her senior season when the California Baptist University guard received the 2016-17 CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year award March 1.

Mihalko was the first Lancer to earn the top Academic All-America award from CoSIDA when she made the first team last season. Of the six first-team Academic All-America selections, Mihalko was the only one who earned the honor two years running. The award recognizes student-athletes across the United States and Canada as top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.

Earlier this season, Mihalko became the third Lancer to score 2,000 points. At 2,097 all-time points, she ranks second in that statistic in CBU history.

Postseason play begins this week, as the Lancers earned a first-round bye in the PacWest Tournament. They will face the winner of Thursday’s fourth and fifth-seed game between Notre Dame de Namur University and Azusa Pacific University, respectively, on Friday at 5 p.m.

Read the full story here.

 

CBU professor to serve on Healthy Yucaipa Committee

Dr. Melissa Wigginton, associate professor of public health science at California Baptist University, has been elected to serve a one-year term with the Healthy Yucaipa Committee.

“I wanted to get back to helping out my community directly,” Wigginton said of her new opportunity. “I feel that I have a lot of experience that can be helpful to the city of Yucaipa.”

Wigginton obtained her doctorate in health education from Loma Linda University, and during her studies, she spent time working with the Healthy San Bernardino Coalition and the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. She has also spent time conducting research at CBU on various health-related issues such as childhood and adult obesity; health promotion and education; chronic disease intervention; and stress and health correlations.

In her role with the city of Yucaipa, Wigginton will develop goals and objectives for the committee. She will also be tasked with creating health-related programs to be implemented by the city.

Wigginton, who lives in Yucaipa, said her faith drives her desire to make a positive impact on her community.

“The Bible discusses loving and caring for your neighbor, doing the most to help those that need help,” Wigginton said.

Wigginton said for her, being a healthy person has a spiritual connection.

“I’m driven to lead a healthy life a lot by what I learn at church and in the Bible… God created us in his image; I treat my body as a part of that image,” Wigginton said. “I want to be the best version of myself, and I can’t do that when I’m not healthy.”

 

CBUOnline earns several top 10 national rankings

California Baptist University has earned the No. 8 spot among online bachelor’s programs in the 2017 Top Online Education Program national rankings released by U.S. News & World Report. This puts CBU as the only college in California ranked in the top 10 for the best online bachelor’s programs. CBU has placed in the top 40 for the fifth consecutive year.

CBU Online and Professional Studies (OPS) currently serves more than 3,643 students online. OPS offers 20 online undergraduate majors and concentrations, 14 graduate majors and specializations, and two doctoral programs in business administration and public administration.

“We are pleased this year’s ranking moved us from the top 40 into the top 10 nationwide. The ranking affirms CBU Online’s commitment to increasing access to education, and serving the adult student,” said Dr. David Poole, vice president for OPS.

CBU also received high online rankings for training instructors with a No. 2 for online MBA faculty and credentials training; No. 2 for online graduate business programs faculty and credentials training; No. 3 for online graduate education faculty training; and a No. 5 for faculty and training in the bachelor’s degree category.

“The latest rankings support our mission and goals to build and deliver quality programs and an effective learning experience that serves the growing need for online education,” Poole said.

For more information on the U.S. News Top Online Education Program rankings, click here.

 

Missions health conference explores medical missionary calling

California Baptist University hosted the Global Mission Health Conference-West Coast on Feb. 24-25, which provided conference participants an opportunity to explore a calling in the medical mission field. CBU’s College of Health Science and School of Nursing hosted the event for the third straight year.

Andrew Scott, president of Operation Mobilization USA, was the opening keynote speaker on Feb. 24. Scott said people can think a person’s calling is some mystical moment.

“You are not called to the purposes of God, you were made for the purposes of God,” Scott told the audience. “No one is excluded from that…The meaning of calling so often in scripture is this eternal reality that God was calling out a people for Himself in eternity through Christ…No one is excluded from this idea of being in relationship with Him”

Anthony Dockery, senior pastor at St. Stephen Baptist Church and one of the keynote speakers on Feb. 25, told the audience that missions are not just something people do, but who they are.

“Growing up I used to love to help and serve people. Still to this day, I am one of God’s servants,” Dockery said. “Being serious about being a Christian must mean we are serious about missions.”

Additional keynote speakers were Elizabeth Styffe, director of Orphan Care Initiatives at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, and Claude Hickman, executive director of The Traveling Team.

Joshua Gladney, a CBU exercise science junior, said that the keynote speakers gave him a new perspective on everyday life.

“I definitely learned that if you are a true follower of Christ, then you are in fact a missionary,” Gladney said. “I can contribute to missions even in the city of Riverside. Engaging and creating strong relationships with others is what being a missionary is all about, as well as serving and just being dependable.”

 

Recognize Bible as authority for living, Mohler urges

The Bible is God’s revelation of who He is and what He requires of us, Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. told a California Baptist University chapel audience on Feb. 27.

Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said that even though God has revealed Himself, people would rather live by their own rules than recognize the Bible as the authority for how they should live.

“We live in the day of the cult of the individual, where people believe that ‘I am the most important unit on the planet,’” Mohler said. “But the problem is, it doesn’t work. It doesn’t work in the dorm, it doesn’t work in a dating relationship, it doesn’t work in life.”

Mohler acknowledged that before submitting to the authority of the Bible, one must ask whether God exists and whether God speaks.

“It’s not just the universe outside of us that cries out the existence of God, it’s the universe inside of us,” Mohler said. “If we really do know in our hearts, in our minds that God exists, then we have to recognize the most important question in the world … what does that God then expect of us?”

If God does exist, but He does not speak, then people are doomed, Mohler said. However, He does reveal Himself. The Bible, Mohler said, is the Creator’s “user manual.”

“What we have is the Creator loving us enough, not only to create us made in His image, but to speak to us so we know we’re not alone in the cosmos and we know we’re not accidents,” Mohler said.

The Bible tells people who God is, who they are and how they can be rescued from sin, Mohler said.

“The Bible makes demands on us because it the communication of our Creator,” Mohler said. “He makes demands of us because He created us for His glory and He knows that which is good for us.”

 

Future of healthcare includes innovation, CBU lecturer says

Technology will be critical to longevity and the vitality of life, Sarah Thomas told a California Baptist University audience.

Thomas, who is the senior director of global innovation for Genesis Rehabilitation/Genesis Healthcare, the largest post-acute care provider in the country, spoke on Feb. 21 as part of the College of Health Science’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

“We need to be visionaries as we enter the field of health care,” Thomas said. “In this time of change, we have the opportunity to harness the energy, imagination and creativity around us, to shape the new emerging world of healthcare.”

Thomas also works with Aging2.0, an organization that aims to accelerate innovation in order to improve the lives of the elderly. Thomas offered examples on how technology is contributing to patient care. For instance, Thomas said there is a sensor pill that a patient swallows, which allows the doctor more insights into how that patient is responding to prescribed medication.

Thomas encouraged the students that whatever environment they plan to work in, “to experience it from the other side” in order to come up with ideas that lead to solutions.

“Interview people who are impacted in that setting, patients [and] everyone you have to interact with,” Thomas said. “Look from their perspective. That empathetic perspective is so important as you’re innovating.”

As part of her job, Thomas works with startup tech companies. Two new products she mentioned included a spoon, with stabilizing and leveling handles, designed to help people who have hand tremors and “powered clothing,” equipped with “electric muscles” to support the torso, hips and legs.

“We’re seeing really creative things come out to make lives easier, better, safer,” Thomas said.

She challenged the students to keep learning and to realize the impact they can make on the world around them.

“Health care as a whole does need changing,” Thomas said. “I want to empower you to make that change and to encourage that change in the practices that you develop and that you enter into.”

 

Career fair brings job opportunities to CBU students

More than 105 businesses were on hand to offer internships, part-time jobs or full-time jobs at the Business, Engineering and Communication Studies Career Fair at California Baptist University on Feb. 22.

The Career Center has been intentional about networking with local employers and government agencies, said Mike Bishop, senior director of the Career Center at CBU.

Bishop said employers are interested in CBU graduates who not only have a great education, but who also understand what character, integrity and commitment means.

“When those [traits] are bundled together, that’s a win for an employer, because employers not only want to hire, they want to make hires that will stick,” Bishop said.

The fair also provided students with a chance to practice presenting themselves professionally and to interact with different employers, Bishop said. Students needed to come dressed professionally, have a resume and be able to tell potential employers about themselves.

“There are a lot of good opportunities for our students to get hired or to be chosen for an internship,” Bishop said. “These employers align with what the students have been studying, so it’s a win-win for both parties.”

The Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District had internships and a junior civil engineer position available.

“The benefit [of the fair] is we get to meet with people, tell them a little bit about what we do and why we’re such a good place to work,” said Cassandra Sanchez, a representative of the water district. “It allows us to find people that we know are interested in us.”

Melissa Perez, an accounting junior, said having the fair on campus made it accessible to meet employers.

“It gives us more of a real-world experience. We get to talk to people who are actually in the field we want to be in,” Perez said. “It gives us more of a sense of what we’re going to do when we graduate.”

Peter Dunckel, a software engineering major, attended the fair to network with companies that might fit his career pursuits.

“It takes a lot of work to submit a lot of resumes online and go through the process, but to be able to actually talk to people in person and give a resume in person is so much better. It really is a blessing,” Dunckel said.

 

Chapel speaker says to trust in a good God despite world’s evil 

Believing God is good in the midst of prevalent evil can be a struggle, Nik Ripken, an overseas fieldworker and author, told a California Baptist University chapel audience on Feb. 22.

“What do you do when you believe in a God that is the creator, a God that is great, a God that is gracious, but when we get outside of the walls of church and we get outside of Christian community, why is it that evil seems to dominate … in much of the world?” Ripken asked.

Ripken and his wife, Ruth, have worked for more than 30 years sharing Jesus around the world. Eight of those years were in Somalia, where he witnessed injustices such as being shot at while providing charitable assistance; knowing Christians who were killed for their faith; and seeing babies die due to malnutrition.

“I want you to understand that if indeed, greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world, He has to be a mighty God because evil is astronomically present and strong in the world,” Ripken said, referring to I John 4:4.

After leaving Somali, he spent the next 10 years talking with persecuted believers around the world, asking them how they can follow Jesus when there is so much evil in the world. From those interactions, he wrote “The Insanity of God” and “The Insanity of Obedience.”

It was a question he struggled with, Ripken said, but he has arrived at some truths through his faith and his experiences.

God took a risk on people by allowing them to choose between good and evil, Ripken said.

“God wants children in relationship to him, therefore, every day he gives you a choice and the direction of this world depends on what choice you make,” Ripen said. “There’s a real war out there and we get to choose sides. We can’t be neutral.”

 

CBU selects PepsiCo for university-wide partnership

California Baptist University today announced a multiyear integrated athletic marketing and campus-wide relationship with PepsiCo. The agreement is the second founding level partnership for the university’s new 5,050-seat events center.

“We are thrilled to partner with PepsiCo,” said Dr. Ronald L. Ellis, CBU President.  “From the beginning of our discussions, it was clear that they were the right partner for our university. Their commitment to quality, variety and innovation is tremendous. We genuinely appreciate their support.”

“This is an unprecedented integrated partnership for CBU,” said Dr. Micah Parker, director of athletics.  “To have PepsiCo brands including Gatorade, G-Series and Aquafina as part of our student athletes’ day-to-day performance training program and as a founding level partner with our new events center is a perfect fit. They will bring an amazing energy to our athletic contests, rivalries and new events center as our video board partner.”

The university-wide partnership provides for a number of PepsiCo brands to be incorporated into the daily lives of thousands of students who dine at CBU’s six food service venues. Brands such as Starbuck’s ready-to-drink coffee beverages, Lipton Iced Tea, Ocean Spray, Tropicana juices and Muscle Milk will be featured in the university’s nationally acclaimed food service program, led by Provider Hospitality CEO, Rodney Couch, who orchestrated the partnership along with Micah Fuller, associate director of athletics, marketing.

 

CBU Urban Excursion team serves homeless in San Diego

Students from California Baptist University partnered with New Vision Christian Fellowship’s Urban Missions Ministry to conduct a food distribution project serving homeless communities in San Diego the weekend of February 17-19.

The CBU team was formed through the Urban Excursion service learning projects that are operated out of the Office of Spiritual Life. Julie Dobbins, director of compassion and women’s ministries at CBU, said Urban Excursion projects are a tangible way to show the love of Christ as well as learn about how students can integrate service and care into their daily lives.

“Students get to put Christ on display in their actions,” Dobbins said.

Dobbins said the Urban Excursion projects are open to all CBU students. There are several opportunities throughout a semester for students to serve, from weekly opportunities in Riverside to service trips to cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.

Students train for three weeks before participating in a service trip, Dobbins said. Training nights and team-building activities help prepare students for their activity.

“The training offers students an opportunity to get to know their team, and also learn about the vision and values at CBU and learn why we serve,” Dobbins said.

By the end of the training, students learn valuable skills related to communication, connecting with others and sharing about Christ, Dobbins said.

“We want students to know how to pray for someone they’ve never met, understand the culture they are going into and also be able to show a person respect by shaking a hand and looking them in the eye,” Dobbins said.

Urban Excursion projects in the past have helped with harvest festivals, assisting children with special needs, taking care of the elderly and various homeless assistance.

 

CBU speaker discusses solutions for helping the homeless

“We know that transformation can happen when the right support, right encouragement, right love and right resources are given,” Damien O’Farrell (’00) told a California Baptist University audience on Feb 16.

O’Farrell, Path of Life Ministries CEO, spoke as part of the School of Behavioral Sciences Culture and Justice Lecture Series. Path of Life is a nonprofit organization located in Riverside that offers numerous programs aimed to get individuals off the streets and on the way to restoring and rebuilding their lives.

“In order to talk about homelessness, if we are even going to get close to creating solutions, we have to talk about poverty,” O’Farrell said. “Homelessness is a symptom of poverty; there is a direct correlation.”

O’Farrell presented a historical perspective on poverty rates, economic trends and how the U.S. government has handled these issues. O’Farrell advocated for taking individuals out of a homeless situation—once a person has a place of residence, that is one less issue a person has to navigate. Additionally, he said, it is more cost effective if the homeless are offered some sort of housing option.

“When you count in the cost of police, emergency room visits, code enforcement, education, loss of business, etc., etc., not even counting the cost of the individual which I think is important, it’s very expensive for someone to stay homeless,” O’Farrell said. “You might not feel it, but these costs are coming from our tax base.”

O’Farrell said at the very least Christians should be interested in helping the homeless community.

“Spread throughout the whole of the scriptures there is a story of bringing restoration and help to not only people but (also to) the community and helping people escape situations in which they are outsiders,” O’Farrell said.

Family Updates

Dr. Dennis K. Bideshi, professor of biology, co-authored a paper that was published in Folia Microbiologica (February 2017). The paper was titled Recombinant Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD73 strain that synthesizes Cry1Ac and chimeric ChiA74Δsp chitinase inclusions.

 

 

 

 

Dr. A. Abdelmessih, professor of mechanical engineering, spoke at the 2017 Society of Women Engineers Sonora Region Conference in Irvine on Feb. 11-12. The title of her speech was Present for Success. Student members of CBU Society of Women Engineers—Abigail Lu, Andrea Davila and Joyeuse Dufitumukiza—also attended the event.

 

 

 

Dr. Veola Vazquez, associate professor of psychology, made presentations at a marriage conference, Marriage: Fan the Flame, at Evangel Ministries in Detroit, Michigan, on Feb. 18. She presented two talks: Supporting a Spouse When Life Brings Pain and Marriage: An Emotional Dance. The conference was sponsored by the Center for Marriage and Relationships at Biola University.

 

 

 

Dr. Dayna Herrera, associate professor of nursing, and Sarah Pearce, assistant director of the Learning Resource Center for the College of Nursing, co-authored an abstract published in the Society for Simulation in Healthcare journal (December 2016). The abstract was titled The Simulation Studio: An Innovative Practice Enviroment for Enhancement of High-Fidelity Simulation in Nursing Education. They also presented the abstract at the 17^th annual International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare conference in Orlando, Florida, on Jan 30.

 

 

Dr. Torria Davis, instructional designer for Online and Professional Studies, has been named a winner in Blackboard’s 2016-17 Exemplary Course Program. The program recognizes faculty and course designers from schools, colleges and universities around the world who develop innovative courses that represent the best in technology and learning. Davis won for her course Educational Computing Level 1.

 

 

 

The Department of Natural and Mathematical Sciences held its 9^th annual Research Seminar on Feb. 18. Faculty, alumni, and students presented research in areas of biology, chemistry, biochemistry & molecular biology, environmental science, mathematics and statistics. Included in that were students in the research group of Dr. Jacob Lanphere, assistant professor of environmental science, who co-authored all their presentations. Steven Thorp presented a poster titled Effects of Silver Nanomaterials on the Growth of S. Lycopersicum Cerasiforme (cherry tomato plants) in Hydroponics Systems. Cooper May presented a poster titled Prevention and Removal of Southern California Invasive Plants Species in the Oak Glen Preserve. Karina Elias made a poster and oral presentation titled Fate and Aggregation Behavior of Molybdenum Disulfide Nanomaterials in Southern California Aquatic Environments. Gabrielle Seratti made a poster and oral presentation titled Invasive Aquatic Marine Species Colonization in the Dana Point Harbor.

 

Dr. Gayne Anacker, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, presented a paper to CBU’s Consortium on Faith Integration in the Sciences on Feb. 6. The title of the paper was Reason and Faith: Inductive Logic and the Existence of God. Dr. Linn Carothers, professor of mathematics, organized the consortium.

 

 

 

Dr. Linn Carothers, professor of mathematics, presented a lecture to the Chinese Center for Disease Control Zhejiang Public Health Conference in Hangzhou, China on May 27. The lecture was titled The Three Critical Challenges to 21st Century Chinese Healthy Life Expectancy.   

 

 

 

Dr. Ricardo Cordero-Soto, associate professor of mathematics, gave a presentation at the Faith in Mathematics Colloquium at CBU on Oct. 24. The title was The Problem of God and Abstract Objects.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Esther Lee, assistant professor of statistics, made a presentation at the Seminar on Faith and the Academic Profession Colloquium at CBU on Nov. 16. The title was An Application of Bayes’ Theorem to The Case of the Resurrection of Jesus.

 

 

 

Dr. Michael Sill, assistant professor of mathematics, gave a presentation at the Faith in Mathematics Colloquium at CBU on Nov. 8. The title was God, Mathematics, and Language.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Kyle Stewart, assistant professor physics, gave an oral presentation at the Galaxy Formation and Evolution in Southern California Conference at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena on Sept 8-9. The title was High Angular Momentum Halo Gas: a Code & Feedback Independent Prediction of LCDM.

 

 

 

Dr. Robert Willett, assistant professor of mathematics, gave a presentation at Division of Natural and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Colloquium at CBU Nov. 28. It was titled Volume Comparison and Ricci Curvature.

 

 

 

 

Personnel Updates